Recently, communication protocols have developed for allowing a computing device to control and communicate with media devices such as digital cameras. Existing communication protocols allow for communication between a computing device and a digital still camera. One existing protocol, ISO157540 Picture Transfer Protocol (PTP), incorporated into products of the Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash., can be used in connection with transferring images from imaging devices, such as cameras, to personal computing devices. This protocol defines how the digital still camera can communicate with a personal computing device operating with Microsoft Windows® and a Microsoft® class driver, both products of the Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash.
An extension is needed for existing protocols in order to enable them to function with media devices other than digital still cameras. Such an extension would enable existing operating systems to provide a robust and stable hub for digital media devices. Furthermore, such an extension would enable hardware manufacturers to focus on innovating their hardware and value-add software since basic protocol communication with a personal computing device would no longer be a concern. An analogous example applies to DVD players. DVD manufacturers have been able to focus their efforts in the capabilities of the DVD player, partially due to reliance on the standard connection mechanisms to the television (S-video, composite, etc) for communicating with the television and to reliance on the standard layout of information on the storage media.
Thus, a need exists to facilitate communication between computing devices and other types of media devices. Such devices may include cell phones with or without integrated cameras, digital audio players, digital video players, digital video cameras with still imaging capability, personal digital assistants (PDAs), digital voice recorders, and other types of media devices, or any combinations of the preceding devices. Ideally, a protocol would define mechanisms for describing, configuring and controlling the media device, as PTP does for digital still cameras. A protocol is needed for defining how various media, such as photos, audio/music, and video and other media having associated rich metadata can be transferred to and from a device.